Posts Tagged ‘Atheist’

I cannot understand how anyone can be religious in this day and age :)
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CANTERBURY, England — In marked contrast to the U.S., public figures who disavow belief in God tend to win approval from a growing number of British people.

A survey of 1,500 adults released Thursday (Feb. 12) by YouGov, a British market research firm, shows that as many as a third of all Britons do not believe in God or any kind of higher power.

The poll found that Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, and Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labor Party, were viewed positively because they state openly that they don’t believe in God.

That’s a stark contrast to the U.S., where the number of openly atheist politicians in Congress hovers around zero.

The survey shows that while atheists in England are ready to stand up and talk about their nonbelief in God, most Christians are reluctant to proclaim their faith.

And it shows a marked divide between young people — who increasingly embrace atheism — and older people, who identify with their religious upbringing.

Almost one in three under the age of 24 declare themselves to be atheists, compared with only one in 10 people over the age of 60.

Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they did not believe in “any sort of God or spiritual power.”

The proportion of people who denied belief in God rose to 46 percent among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Young people also admire comedian and actor Stephen Fry for saying in public that if there is a God, then that God is “a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God” who allows so much suffering.

David Voas, professor of population studies at Essex University, said that while Fry had offended many religious people, he delighted atheists.Read more
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Believers in Heaven look forward to an afterlife. But does their belief in posthumous existence alleviate their fears about death and dying? How does the atheist approach the reality that, one day, the curtain will close on his/her life?

–Atheist groups in Canada and around the world are taking the unusual step of joining forces to fight blasphemy laws that they say are an infringement on free speech

Spearheaded by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and the European Humanist Federation, the End Blasphemy Laws Campaign will represent 200 humanist and secular organizations worldwide. Together, the groups plan to advocate for those prosecuted under blasphemy laws and call for the repeal of such laws, which are still on the books even in many Western countries.

Two leading Canadian secularist groups, the Centre for Inquiry Canada and Humanist Canada, are partnering with organizations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Philippines to launch the coalition, which was unveiled on Friday.

“This is the largest and best co-ordinated anti-blasphemy law coalition and campaign in history,” CIC head Eric Adriaans said. “IHEU has issued reports on blasphemy laws in the past, but this is the first time that I’ve seen organizations around the world actively co-operate and merge initiatives in this way.”

IHEU president Sonja Eggerickx said the attacks on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo earlier this month gave the organizations new impetus to move on an international scale.

Pierre Galand, president of EHG, said the campaign isn’t meant to incite hate. Rather, the coalition is concerned with what it sees as a “double standard.” While the European Union takes a hardline against blasphemy laws around the world, many of its own member states have yet to repeal their own.

In Ireland, the Charlie Hebdo attacks have prompted renewed calls for the repeal of that country’s anti-blasphemy law. While the Irish government accepted the recommendation of a referendum on the offence in October, Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced earlier this month that will no longer happen during the current government’s lifetime.

Atheist Ireland chairperson John Hamill says the organization will meet with Mr. Kenny on Feb. 10 to urge the government to make good on what in October appeared to be a commitment to a review of the law. Article 40 of the Irish Constitution makes blasphemy an offence and a new blasphemy law was introduced in 2009 making it a crime punishable by a fine of up to $30,000. The introduction of the new law took many in Ireland by surprise. The United Kingdom repealed its blasphemy law just one year prior and the United States has never had one at the federal level.

“The distinction between Ireland and those who carry out executions for blasphemy must consist of more than just the severity of the punishment,” says Atheist Ireland in a letter addressed to Mr. Kenny.

In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects free speech, but the Criminal Code still lists “blasphemous libel” as a crime, punishable by up to two years in jail.

CAIRO — It took one session on Jan. 10 for a court in the Nile Delta province of Beheira to sentence Karim al-Banna, a 21-year-old student, to three years in prison for saying on Facebook that he was an atheist. The student’s lawyer complained that he was denied the right even to present a defense, but an equally chilling aspect of Mr. Banna’s case is that his father testified against him.

Also telling is that Mr. Banna was originally arrested, in November, when he went to the police to complain that his neighbors were harassing him. This was after his name had appeared in a local newspaper on a list of known atheists. Instead of protecting him, the police accused him of insulting Islam.

Such tag teams of family, media and state are not uncommon in cases against atheists. Because atheism itself is not illegal in Egypt, charges are laid under laws against blasphemy or contempt for religion. In 2012, a 27-year-old blogger, Alber Saber, received a three-year sentence on charges of blasphemy for creating a web page called “Egyptian Atheists.” In 2013, the writer and human rights activist Karam Saber (no relation) was convicted of defaming religion in his short story collection “Where Is God?”

Similar charges have been used for political purposes against Egypt’s Christian minority. In 2013, a Coptic Christian lawyer, Roman Murad Saad, was sentenced in absentia for “ridiculing” the Quran. From 2011 to 2013, Egyptian courts convicted 27 of 42 defendants on charges of contempt for religion.Read more
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